I was teaching skateboard art to a group of at-risk youth that it came clear to me that I have more to offer than just facilitating creativity.
I had lived in China, Malaysia and the Philippines for 12 years and it was in Manila in 2000 where I studied meditation with Master Li Jun Feng and later with the Dhyan Vimal Academy. So I took the mindfulness and meditation teachings and created the content for the Brave Art for Youth art program and workbook journal so that my students could be reminded of the many tools available to cultivate self-awareness, resilience and healing that are available to them.
I have taught this program at middle schools up and down the pacific northwest and artist residencies for Arts In Education of the Gorge in Hood River, Oregon.
It has been enormously rewarding to see my students get excited about meditation and expressing their feelings through art. It is my hope that more kids can harness these tools for maturity and happiness so that they may blossom into beautiful, resilient adults.
In the fall of 2021, I will be heading up the art department at Hood River New School:
